The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has raised a
lot of questions around insurance coverage in relation to
COVID-19 related losses, exposures and
liabilities.
We have considered extensively the coverage issues and
potential arguments, both for and against coverage,
relative to potential COVID-19 related losses and liabilities (both
directly and indirectly related), and relative to various policy
wordings in the South African market. We provide insight into these
issues and arguments based on our experience, and in the context of
relevant insurance policies.
Importantly, the assessment of coverage in
terms of an insurance policy is an interpretative
exercise. The interpretation of an insurance policy has
been firmly established in our law as a unitary and objective legal
exercise, involving considerations not only of the wording of the
policy but also context and the application of commercial or
business-like sense.
